Pages

Thursday, August 07, 2014

Rice pudding

July 20, 2014

Thanks to houseguests and vege boxes, we've recently been inundated with kiwi fruits. I've never really developed a taste for their tartness, so I got to thinking about desserts I might be able to hide them in. Some went into an ugly yet edible vegan bastardisation of this financier recipe, but that only took down two. Cashew cream and frothy gelato came to mind, but I really wanted something warm and winter-friendly.

I hit on a winner with rice pudding. Its creamy warmth is perfectly in season, and softens out the kiwi fruits' acidity. I like these two much better as a team than I like either on their own, and I happily finished off the large pot of pudding and half a dozen kiwis.

This was also a chance to try mixing not-milks in place of dairy, a trick I noticed at a couple of New York's best veganicecreameries. It definitely lent this pudding a silky richness that didn't taste overbearingly like any of the source ingredients.

Place the milk, vanilla, cinnamon, lemon rind and sugar in a large saucepan. Bring the mixture to the boil, stirring it regularly.

Pour in the rice and reduce the heat to low. Stir the mixture regularly, cooking it for 40-50 minutes, until the rice is completely cooked and the mixture is slightly thickened. Remove the pudding from the heat and allow it to rest for at least 10 minutes before serving with fruit.

I think of kiwi fruit as summer food - I love them in fruit salad or they would be good with yoghurt and muesli but I admire your creativity in finding wintery uses for them - could do with a big bowl of rice pudding tonight

I don't really anybody who loves kiwi fruit but the shops always seems to be awash with them. And I often end up with a couple of them in the bottom of the fridge wondering what the hell to do with them. The rice pudding looks fab though, maybe with some winter strawberries from Queensland